As used herein, the expression "refrigerator" denotes refrigerators and freezers and combinations thereof. The expression "freezer" section denotes a cooling section in which the temperature is generally maintained at or below the freezing point of water, i.e. 0.degree. C. The expression "standard refrigerator" section or simply "refrigerator" section denotes a cooling storage region, the temperature of which is generally higher than the temperature of the freezer section.
In applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,421,338 and 3,486,347 there are disclosed several embodiments of a self-defrosting refrigerator of the type disclosed herein wherein refrigerated air is force-circulated through a food storage compartment. The food storage compartment may be in the form of a single freezer or refrigerator compartment or it may be divided into two or more sections, one section being a freezer section and the other section or sections being progressively warmer refrigerator sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,347 relates to a self-defrosting refrigerator in which the refrigeration system is completely separated from the food storage compartments in modular fashion to thereby permit rapid defrosting of the freezer coils and easy accessibility for servicing mechanical equipment. In one embodiment, the self-defrosting refrigerator includes a food storage compartment divided by a central wall into a freezer section and a refrigerator section. The central wall includes a first opening to permit circulation of chilled air from the freezer section into the refrigerator section and a second opening to permit return circulation of chilled air from the refrigerator section into the freezer section. A refrigerating compartment is adjacent the food storage compartment, the respective compartments being separated by a wall having first and second openings therein which define first and second passageways interconnecting the two compartments.
A refrigeration system, mounted entirely within the refrigerating compartment, includes a compressor, a freezer coil, a defroster heater adjacent the freezer coil supplying heat to melt frost from the freezer coil during a defrosting cycle, a blower adjacent the freezer coil for circulating refrigerated air through the passageways between the first and second openings in the central wall of the first compartment during the refrigeration cycle to cool the freezer section and the refrigerator section.
Applicant has developed an improved power module for use with forced air circulation refrigerators of the type described above. This improved power module operates with greater energy efficiency due to its novel design and its reduced size, which makes it feasible for use with refrigeration cabinets having a width of only eighteen inches. Refrigeration cabinets of this size previously could not be constructed due to the necessity of coupling such cabinets with then existing power modules which exceeded 18" in width. This created a top-heavy combination which provided an unbalanced appearance. Applicants novel 18" wide refrigeration cabinet with its accompanying power module is often commensurate with the space available for a refrigeration cabinet and accompanying power module in a typical urban apartment dwelling.